Since the enactment of the “Historic Town Development Law” (Law Concerning Maintenance and Enhancement of Historic Properties in Local Communities) in November 2008, efforts to create historic towns have been promoted in various areas.

　In order to share knowledge and skills related to historic town planning in cities that have been certified under the Historic Landscape Preservation and Improvement Plan, the Greening and Ecology Laboratory is building a database that consolidates basic information on each certified city's historic town planning efforts, the details of historic properties they are working to preserve and improve, and the maintenance projects they are carrying out. We are working on the construction of a database that consolidates information on the basic information of each certified city engaged in historic city planning, the details of historic properties they are working to maintain and improve, and the maintenance projects they are implementing.

　In order to provide this information not only to those involved in certified cities, but also to government and private city planning officials nationwide, as well as to the general public interested in city planning, we have established the “Reki-Machi Information Site” with an information search function, which is open to the public.

　With the enactment of the “Historic Town Development Law” in May 2008, town development efforts utilizing local history and culture have been progressing throughout Japan. In order to support such efforts by local governments, we have compiled a “Draft Guideline for Historic Town Planning” that describes specific methods and processes for preservation, utilization, and restoration of buildings that contribute to the formation of historic neighborhoods, etc., in accordance with regional characteristics, along with examples of advanced historic town planning efforts. The guide is a draft of the “Guide to Historic City Planning (Draft).

　In light of the progress of efforts based on the government-approved plans to maintain and improve historic properties in various cities, we studied and developed a progress management and evaluation system for the plans in FY2010, and began full-scale operation of the system in FY2011. Subsequently, as the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the Historic Town Development Act approached, the progress management and evaluation system was reviewed to enable a more long-term and comprehensive evaluation of the results of the efforts of each certified city, and the new system was put into operation in FY 2009.

　In recent years, architectural and civil engineering facilities using traditional construction methods, including general facilities with little value as cultural assets, have been increasingly evaluated from multiple perspectives with a view to utilizing them for urban development, while it has become difficult to secure various resources related to traditional construction methods, including human resources and materials. Therefore, we are studying a scheme for the preservation and utilization of traditional construction methods that is effective for disaster prevention/mitigation, landscape formation, and tourism promotion, while referring to examples of advanced efforts in various parts of Japan.